Unemployment rates for African Americans by state in 2015

March 04, 2016

In 2015, the unemployment rate for the United States averaged 5.3 percent. The rate for African Americans was 9.6 percent, but rates varied among the states. The lowest unemployment rates for African Americans were in Hawaii (4.1 percent), Alaska (4.6 percent), Nebraska (5.3 percent), and Colorado (5.9 percent). The highest unemployment rates for African Americans were in Iowa (14.8 percent), Minnesota (14.1 percent), and Nevada (13.5 percent).

The gap between the overall U.S. unemployment rate and the rate for African Americans in 2015 was 4.3 percentage points. Within states, the gaps were largest in Iowa (11.2 percentage points), Minnesota (10.3 points), and Connecticut (7.6 points). In Alaska and New Mexico, unemployment rates for African Americans were lower than the overall rates.

Self-employment in the United States
Trends in self-employment by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, including both the unincorporated and the incorporated self-employed, as well as data on paid employees who work for the self-employed.